Leftovers
by Roo1965
Summary: SG1 have a lot of bridges to mend before they are a team once again after 100 days and Shades of grey missions. Jack angst and whump. a WIP.
1. Chapter 1

WIP November 2002 -

Category: h/c angst, jack whump

Spoilers: One hundred days, shades of gre Season: 3

Summary: SG1 have a lot of bridges to mend before they function as a team once more

* * *

**Leftovers by Roo**

**PROLOGUE**

On PX3 4242: 0100 hrs

"Dammit Jack you could at least have taken your boots off!" cursed Daniel as he made his way into the tent that they shared. Jack lay flat on his back sprawled across both sleeping bags, still in his flak jacket, and P90 loose in his hand. A light sheen of sweat coated his face and neck. It was as if he had fallen asleep as soon as he lay down. Jack might snore a lot but he usually got in his sleeping bag and took his boots off first. He was usually much more careful about his weapon too. The way he was laying meant that Daniel couldn't get into his bag at all.

"What's up Daniel?" It was Sam; it was her watch which was why he was going to bed.

"Look at him!" he said. "How am I going to move him without him waking up and trying to kill me?"

"Jack?" He called softly, knowing Jack was usually a light sleeper. In fact why hadn't he already woken? "Jack." he said again loudly. Still no response.

"I give up. Why is he doing this to me Sam? Is this some kind of Zen test, because I've had enough of this."

"I don't know Daniel. He's not that cruel."

"Don't you dare apologise for him, Sam."

Daniel crawled in and tried to push Jack over the other side of the tent, off his part of the sleeping bag. Jack still didn't stir.

"Sam, what about the gun? I don't like him holding it like that. He doesn't normally do this. You know him and guns. Does he still think he's with Maybourne's outfit?"

"Careful Daniel." She warned. They knew that Jack had very fast reflexes when he was woken up abruptly.

He looked at the gun and saw the safety was still on, and started to unwrap Jack's hand from the grip. At his touch, abruptly Jack surged up, pushing Daniel out of the way with a sharp thump to his chest, bringing the gun up, spitting unfamiliar words as he did so.

"JACK! Wake up! It's Daniel and Sam's here too!" shouted Daniel struggling upright again.

Jack just stared at them, breathing heavily, eyes narrowed peering at them. He blinked at them, and then shut his eyes as if in pain, dropping the gun as he brought both hands up to press against his head. What the..? He didn't expect to be _here_, he'd dreamt he was somewhere else, much warmer, much nastier…He remembered now; PX3 4242 he'd taken the earlier watch.

"God, I've only just come in here. Why did you wake me? What's up?" Jack said tiredly

"Jack it's been 3 hours, you slept through my watch and Sam is on watch now. You fell asleep across the bags; I was trying to move you out of the way. Are you awake yet?" asked Daniel, heart thumping, waiting to see what Jack might do next. Was everything getting to him? He wouldn't hurt any of them surely.

"I'll be outside if you need me Daniel."

"What language was that you said just then?" asked Daniel once Sam had gone.

"Didn't say anything."

"Yes you did."

"Did not!"

"Ok Jack I've had enough for tonight. Just forget I ever asked. Move over so I can get in." Daniel said gritting his teeth.

Jack moved onto his bag, checked the weapon and laid it down to one side. Then he undid his jacket and removed his boots, and slid into the bag. Damn -it was all falling apart and there seemed nothing he could do about it. How on earth did we get like this? SG1 was the flagship team. And he didn't remember saying anything when he woke up, he was sure of it. Get a grip O'Neill, or they'll be shipping you off to the funny farm before you know it.

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**Five DAYS EARLIER**

SG1 have just returned from PJ3 989 three days after Jack's undercover mission with Maybourne ended

**General Hammond's office 2130 hours**

There was a knock at the door

"Come in." Dr Janet Fraiser stepped in. "Sit down Doctor, give me your report on SG1."

"Do you want the good news or the bad sir?"

"That doesn't sound promising Doctor. Let's start with the good news by all means." he sighed.

"Sir, they all check out fine after PJ3 989. Nothing to keep them in for."

"So what's the bad news, Doctor?" asked Hammond patiently

Dr Fraser gathered her thoughts together.

"They just aren't comfortable with each other. It was tense down there, polite and quiet. That's not normal for SG1. They need to trust each other off world, here, anywhere."

"Hell, I knew catching the rogue unit would be only part of the problem. Do you think any of them will talk to you or McKenzie about it? I thought an easy pick up like PJ3 989 would get them into the swing of things again even if it was at such short notice."

"Hmm. maybe Major Carter and Teal'c, but Daniel just works in his lab and says everything's fine. There's no way he'll talk to McKenzie."

"And the Colonel?"queried the general

"He acts like nothing has happened and everyone's going to fall back into the same old routine. But deep down I think he knows. Perhaps some down time will help them get back together."

_Flashback…_

_Hammond thought back to the scene as the Stargate rippled open and Jack O'Neill had stepped through with a nod to him in the control room window, and stuck his arm in the wormhole to keep it open for the rogue soldiers that were coming through- if they were going to come through. The Ex SGC soldiers came through the gate surprised and angry that the Asgard had so easily retrieved all their carefully collected items. . O'Neill nodded to himself and left the wormhole so it could close and he was certain all were here. He came down the ramp, watching the SF's securing the soldiers._

'_You got another one of those ties?' he asked Makepeace_

'Sure, here' 

'_Thanks' and he swiftly grabbed Makepeaces' arms and tied him up like the rest of his team_

'_Hey what the hell' I thought that you wanted to wipe out the Goau'ld' cried Makepeace_

'_Not like this, not by stealing from our allies and enemies alike. We need **them** even if they won't give us their technology. Don't you get that?' cried O'Neill_

_SG1 watched in confusion, as first the General then the Tollan leader congratulated O'Neill on a job well done. The rogue soldiers were led away. Jack stood on the end of the ramp_

'_I'm back' he declared with a grin._

_Daniel eyed him warily, 'so just to clarify- the last few weeks..?'_

'_All forgotten, don't worry about it' but Daniel plainly didn't get it. They moved off together down the corridor_

'_So Daniel… about the whole friendship foundation thing, you know I was just saying….'_

'_Solid. Yes'_

'_It was nice of you to come visit'_

'_Actually, Jack, we drew straws'_

'_And you won?'_

'_No I lost'_

_Jack's stride faltered and then stopped as they all looked at him and moved on._

"Dr Fraiser- how was Colonel O'Neill when you saw him?"

"Alright, a bit short tempered."

"I see."

"And the others didn't stay. They went off as soon as I cleared them. They usually stay just to be sure everything's ok even on a mission where no one's been injured." added Doctor Fraiser

"And …?"

"Colonel O'Neill checks out fine. He's tired, now he's come back through the Gate. He's been on the go ever since he was undercover a few weeks ago. Not to mention several days debriefing and interrogating Makepeace and his team, I am sure you know all about that. And before that he was trapped on Edora for three and a half months. All of which were very stressful situations, and all have distanced him from the rest of SG1." reasoned the Doctor

"I am well aware of that Doctor. But he's a trained officer, he survived on Edora until we could pick him up, and he has plenty of experience from other undercover missions." countered Hammond

"Yes sir and we know how well some of those turned out!"' replied Dr Fraiser.

She began again

"I'm sorry sir, but we didn't know that we could get him back or how long it was going to take. It was only through Major Carter's non-stop efforts that we did at all. It's not the first time he's been left behind."

Hammond did not comment just looked at her; they both knew the contents of some of O'Neill's files. But they were both thinking of the time Colonel Jack O'Neill had been left for dead and captured in Iraq for four months. Not to mention the extraordinary episode on the border of Iran -dragging himself back to safety in nine days with a fractured skull and other multiple wounds. He decided it was best to let the Doctor have her say, before things festered.

"Doctor, he wasn't injured on Edora so I don't thinks that's an issue here. He was surrounded by good friendly people, he wasn't a prisoner, and he did what he had to do to survive." the General began.

"But he wasn't there by choice, was he sir?"

"You know he would rather risk himself than any member of his team."

"And no sooner has he adjusted to _not _coming home, to a completely different way of life, than his old one comes back and drags him off again. He's given no chance to _be_ home before you send him off undercover where he lies to his team and then retires back on Edora!" said Dr Fraiser hotly

"Doctor, I was approached by three of our most powerful allies for help. They all wanted Colonel O'Neill for this operation. They insisted that we sort out the problem ourselves, they could not." argued Hammond steadily

"Sir, I was just trying to tell you how it looks from SG1's point of view and mine."

"Point taken Doctor."

"Why so soon after Edora though, sir? If I may ask?"

"Just bad timing. The situation came to a head, and we were in danger of losing everything. The Colonel happens to be somebody the Tollan, Asgard and the Nox trust. I really did not have much say in the matter. It was up to the Colonel to decide. His time on Edora turned out useful after all. He was the one person we could prove categorically hadn't been running around stealing things. SG1 hadn't worked together for a while and things might be strained when they did. The Tollans allowed Jack to remove the device and attract Maybourne's attention."

"Oh yes, that byplay really seems to have ruined the Colonel and Dr Jackson's working relationship. Not to mention SG1's experiences with Makepeace, which, by the way the Colonel doesn't know about yet.

Today's short notice 'easy' trip to PJ3 989 after the whole sting operation thing actually seems to have made things worse sir. Major Carter and Doctor Jackson aren't talking to Colonel O'Neill, and who knows what Teal'c thinks about all of this. Sam and Daniel aren't talking to each other either and that's never happened before. It's a mess sir. None of them know the whole story and none of them are willing to ask the other for the truth because they don't trust each other any more." explained the Doctor with feeling

"I know this is very hard Doctor. Do you know that the Colonel begged the Asgard, Tollan and the Nox to let the rest of SG1 in on the deal? They wouldn't let him. He almost refused to do it at all. He knew what would happen, what it would mean for him and the team. Although it was up to the Colonel to agree to do this, we all knew he wouldn't let someone else do this in his place. He didn't really have a choice. Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter are military and they know how it works. It's never easy policing your own, but sadly it has to be done from time to time. Teal'c I'm sure understands even if he doesn't outright say so. And Dr Jackson …."

"…Isn't military." finished Dr Fraiser.

"No he isn't Doctor. We'll just have to explain it to him. He's intelligent, he'll realise it was for the greater good."

"With all due respect sir, I think that it's the Colonel and Major Carter that need to help him out with that. So I recommend some time off for SG1, sir they are all tired and stressed out just now." finished Dr Fraser

"I can give them a couple of days downtime and hope they talk to each other. But with one team down and a lot of bad feeling in the SGC as a whole, I need them out there doing what they do best."

"But they need longer than that!" exclaimed Dr Fraiser

"I know. It's the best I can do at the present. I have to get the teams out there as much as I can while I can. We are constantly under review. You know how Senator Kinsey feels about this project. And I don't always have the President's confidence any more. Do I make myself clear? I think we are done here Doctor."

"Yes sir." she acknowledged, and turned to go. She heard him shuffle papers and sigh.

"I'll see what I can do about the shore leave. Keep an eye on them and keep me posted."

"Yes sir." she smiled as she left his office.

Colonel O'Neill strode out of the Infirmary, his face set, ignoring salutes, stares and greetings alike until he reached the empty locker room. Quickly he showered and changed into his civvies and pushed the locker door shut. He was back. But where the heck was everyone else? Gone already? How could they even think he'd turned? Ah yes, because he'd made them think so. And done it rather well. It was how he used to be - the hard ass Colonel with no feelings. Like he was after Charlie- no, not going there. He breathed in deeply. Like he was before Abydos, before Skarra, before Daniel. It had been a while but the undercover darkness had come back with surprising ease.

"Dammit!" he cursed and hit the locker door hard with his fist. Pain flared and he welcomed it .At least that was real. He rested his head against the cool locker for a moment.

He trusted his team, but they apparently didn't trust him anymore. Surely they understood. He knew he had to talk to them, but the way he felt now and from the cool and distant way they had treated him on PJ3 whatever- it would be a bad idea.

However not talking to them until they were due to ship out again in five days time would be even worse. They might even drag Mackenzie in, and then he would have to kill him before Daniel did. Crap, what a mess this was. There was something else going on that he hadn't figured out yet, but he would, and if was connected with his team well someone was in big trouble.

Jack sighed and straightened up, trying to ignore the headache that had centred round his right eyeball and was steadily worsening. He hadn't mentioned it to Dr Fraiser. It was one damn thing after another. He was so tired. Edora, the undercover op followed by several days of sorting out the smirking Makepeace, Maybourne and his team, then off world with SG1 at no notice.

Five days off. What was he going to do? He left the locker room.

Start easy and look for Teal'c or face the problem and start with Daniel? Split the difference and try Carter? he reasoned with himself. This was worse than facing the Goa'uld; this was his team, his family.

He came across Teal'c in the corridor. So much for careful plans he told himself.

"Colonel O'Neill."

"Teal'c. Do you have a minute?" Teal'c's eyebrow twitched.

"I have several minutes." was that a Jaffa joke?

"Ah, I need to know how you feel about the whole undercover … thing." he asked waving his hands expressively. "Have the others said anything to you?" Crap that made it sound like he was asking Teal'c to rat on them, Jack thought with dismay.

"Some of your ways are still unknown to me. We did discuss the fact that you did not seem to be yourself. I reasoned that the outcome would become clear in time, and that you would explain it. Veiling of intent is well known among the Goa'uld I have seen it." Teal'c paused.

Jack waited. This was the most voluble he had heard Teal'c in a long time.

"But…?" he filled in knowing it was coming

"The Jaffa have no need for it. Our intentions are clear- to serve the Goa'uld. A warrior must do what is required no more no less. It can be useful to pretend that something is other than which it appears to be, to discover a truth. System lords war with themselves, Jaffa follow orders, we do not pretend to each other."

"I see. So you knew that something was up, that it would sort itself out, and or I'd fill you in on the situation eventually. You just waited." O'Neill reasoned. The Jaffa inclined his head

"We are very patient." he replied. Jack wasn't sure if that was another joke or not, but whatever it was he welcomed it.

"You do know I was following orders? I wanted to let you all in on it but I was overruled. I couldn't tell you anything. It just looked better that way." Stop, Jack you're babbling.

"Are we ok?" he asked needing to know. That doesn't sound too desperate does it?

"We are." Teal'c stared back at the Tauri soldier who fought against his false gods with such zeal and passion, but who also cared about the people he worked with in the same way. He knew they had let him down on Edora. O'Neill's belief in never leaving people behind was legendary. O'Neill had convinced him to turn against his family, gods and people. He had done distasteful things in his time as a Jaffa. He understood what he was trying to tell him. However Teal'c knew that the other members of the team were not as accommodating, and he was uncomfortable with the resulting situation. He wondered how to bring up the Makepeace situation, but he had to go now. Perhaps the others would tell him in their own way by the time he got back.

"Ah, I was thinking of having a BBQ at the weekend for all of us, before we ship out next week, might help things along a bit." said Jack

"It is very unfortunate but I have received word that my son is ill, and I have permission to go to Chulak." replied Teal'c

"God, no of course you must go, why didn't you say earlier Teal'c? Don't let me keep you from your son. I'll see you when you get back. Be careful." said Jack with concern.

"It was obviously important that you wished to talk to me O'Neill. Thank you for your kind wishes, I will go now."

"Yes go to your wife I'm sure she needs you now." answered Jack as he watched the tall Jaffa move away.

That thing again. Family. SG1 was a family or had been until he'd loused it up. Think positive O'Neill- find Carter and Daniel, do the BBQ thing, talk to them, do the mission. Easy steps one at a time. Move out airman.

Carter's lab 

Outside Carters lab he paused in the doorway, uncertain whether to go in after all.

Chicken are you Colonel? This is your 2IC, whom you trust to do whatever is needed, who scares you with techno babble, but always saves our asses. Actually he _did _understand some of the techno babble but wasn't going to spoil Carter's fun

He stepped forward. Major Samantha Carter looked weary, he could tell from the slump of her shoulders, and normally she was so alert and vibrant. Guess it had been hard for her working with Makepeace and whatever they'd been doing while he'd been on Edora. No one had actually said much about either to him yet. There never seemed to be the time.

"Carter." he called. She immediately stiffened in her chair, but didn't turn around.

"Sir." she snapped.

"We have a pre mission briefing next week, and as we have some time off before that I thought we might all get together over the weekend- BBQ, movies. What do you say?" Was that apologetic enough he wondered?

"Oh, Teal'c's been called to Chulak- his kid's sick." He added.

"Yes I know."

"What?"

"About Teal'c - he came by."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry sir but I have a lot of work here, some experiments that I can't leave. I was… busy while you were away and I've got to catch up." replied Carter still facing her computer.

"Okay then, we'll do it some other time soon then Major. I'll see you Monday at the briefing. But I'll be around if you change your mind. Don't forget to go home." he advised and then he left.

Then ducked back to the doorway and peered in. She had slumped back down, and as he watched she shook her head and then threw the pencil she was holding across the room 'Dammit all to hell!' she cursed. Jack jerked back into the corridor, no way was he going back in there, and it didn't look good at all. Nice to know they'd been busy while he'd been on Edora, wouldn't want them to just sit around not visiting planets and stuff he reasoned to himself.

**-Carter-**

Major Samantha Carter threw threw the pencil across the room 'Dammit all to hell!' she was sure that the Colonel had gone now. She felt so tired, so hurt by him, and yet relieved that he was back at all. He was back in charge of SG1.

No more Makepeace making suggestive comments, belittling her in front of Daniel and Teal'c. Hell, none of them had exactly behaved their best while under Makepeace's command. He commanded all right, such a gung ho Marine, ordering them about like that! SG1 a neatly packaged stereotype for a Colonel who apparently didn't like women, civilians or aliens however nice they were.

Sure, Colonel O'Neill hadn't originally picked her but at least he had listened, watched and assessed and that was it she was in. He'd asked for Daniel on the team, and Teal'c was another warrior for O'Neill.

How dare Makepeace suggest that she had only got the place on SG1 because of her father's connection with General Hammond? How dare he suggest anything between her and Colonel O'Neill? There were thousands of officers who'd served in the Gulf. SG1 were close but all teams were, it was how the military operated- know your team and trust each other no matter what, even if some of the decisions or orders seemed crazy at the time. They'd all had moments of clarity like that.

While she was genuinely fond of Daniel, that was all it was. As a team-mate she hated it when he got hurt, well when any of them got hurt really. Teal'c she respected as an elite soldier, he was always there for them, and yes, sometimes Junior did freak her out. As for the Colonel, well he drove her mad but kept her sane- if that made any sense. But he was the best CO she had ever served under, and she would never jeopardise her career, or his.

At the moment though she was fed up with the whole Edora thing. Yes she'd got him back, but did he want to be? And as for asking 'that woman' to come back with him…! It had been a real kick in the teeth to see him saying goodbye to her. He'd been quiet and distant on his return. The next thing they knew he was blowing off the Tollan meeting and ripping out the weapon detector.

Worse was to come in the debriefing - she knew that General Hammond and the Colonel had a lot of respect for each other. The General called many of the SGC personnel 'son' but with O'Neill she believed he really meant it. There was no other reason he got away with what he did. It was awful seeing the General and Colonel arguing and shouting at each other. The situation was not helped by the rest of SG1 sitting like stranded ducks not knowing whether to lie or tell the truth- either of which would tear the team apart.

The Colonel was told to resign, she found out later, and then when she tried to offer support he said insultingly that he hadn't been the same since he met her and that he was now acting like himself. No wonder he wanted to go back to Edora! Go figure. She almost gave up then; maybe her dad's strings could still pull her into NASA. But she knew in her heart it would be too limiting after the SGC.

Then they got stuck with Makepeace, was his constant sniping a controlling mechanism- just so much smoke and mirrors so they didn't have a chance to see what he was doing? Not that they'd seen him do anything.

They'd all tried hard on PJ3 989, but none of them knew where to start and they were all tired out. They had been put in hurriedly after SG6 all went down with mild food poisoning from a contaminated batch of MRE's. If they weren't so wrapped up in themselves, they might all have found that a bit funny. So they had said the bare minimum and been very polite instead which wasn't hard to do while collecting soil, rock and plant samples and retrieving SG6's gear.

She wasn't going to warn Daniel that the Colonel was probably on his way over like she sometimes did. She'd tried to protect him from Makepeace and that had backfired on both of them. Just as her explanations to Daniel about military orders, undercover operations (what little she _did_ know) and command structures had. Hadn't he learnt anything in the last 3 years?

It was sweet of him to hope that she'd be in command. But then he'd thought that she was defending Colonel O'Neill or even that she knew what was going on. And that had hurt a lot, coming from Daniel. She was merely trying to lay out the framework of how the Colonel would see things. Trying to defend his civilian status against Makepeace hadn't helped at all and she hated what Daniel had done. Teal'c had tried to help as well but had been politely refused.

She sighed. It was all one big mess. At least they got some time off before the next off world trip. Although she'd told the Colonel that she had experiments to run, suddenly she didn't want to be here. Janet was still after her to eat and rest more. Tiredly she finished off her notes, and left the simulations humming away to themselves, and retired to her quarters on the base. Tomorrow she'd go home and sit out in the sun for a while and think of _absolutely_ nothing. No- one to rescue, nothing impossible to build, just nothing.

**-Jack-**

Just Daniel now. No wait. There never was a '_just_' with Daniel- it was all or nothing, and that's what he was afraid of. His head throbbed, he had to do this now, all his ducks in a row, and then he could go to bed. He needed someone to fill him in on a few of the blanks from the last four months. If someone didn't ante up soon he'd have to go back to the General, and that would mean admitting the team wasn't back together, wasn't normal, wasn't anything.

Daniels's office looked much like it always did, coffee cups and books strewn randomly about, and his computer with the dancing pharaohs. The man himself was inside pacing up and down with a book open in his hand.

"Hey there."

"Jack."

"Yes, it's me."

"And…?" prompted Daniel

"What?"

"I don't have _time _for this, Jack!" Daniel said as he snapped the book shut and hugged it to him.

"You don't even know what it is yet!" complained Jack as he watched Daniel continue pacing.

He looked worn out, dark circles round his eyes. But then Daniel often burnt the candles at both ends. Jack knew he'd had to be pretty nasty to Daniel but his house was bugged and Maybourne was watching him. Hang on, hadn't he mentioned something about working on a document for the Tollan government? Guess the guy had been busy while he'd been under cover. But didn't they realise he was just as exhausted as they were?

"I came to ask you over for a BBQ, but it'll be just you and me since Teal'c's off with his sick son on Chulak. Carter has to run some experiments. You could stay over if you want." explained Jack

"Oh right! Like I want! Sure, what _you _want you mean!" spat Daniel bitterly.

"Hey!" protested Jack, taken aback by Daniel's vehemence.

"No, for once- you listen to me Jack! You were gone for over three months- we didn't even know if you were alive. You come back, behave like a…a barbarian, and think that a BBQ is going to solve everything?! Well just forget it. I can't do it just now. I'm too angry with you. I worked for over a week on that treaty with the Tollan after you went all dark side on us. And what thanks do I get? Nothing! Because it didn't mean a damn, the whole situation was a fake. What a waste of time. And let's not forget what Sam did while you were sunning yourself on Edora. She worked herself to the bone for you, Jack. Building that generator, no-ones _ever_ done that before but she did it. Don't you get it Jack? See you didn't even know that did you? And as for working with Makepeace? Don't even ask about it." Daniel's diatribe wound down.

Stunned by the barrage of feeling and information, Jack was tempted to just shout back at Daniel, but knew he'd have to go carefully. It was clear they needed another talk later when they had both had more time and space to think things through and weren't so tired. He sighed and pinched his nose before speaking,

"Daniel, I'm sorry that it all seems such a mess. You know I didn't get stuck on Edora on purpose." he began

"No, but you bolted back there to retire quickly enough!" retorted Daniel

"That was part of the smoke screen I had to put about. I'm truly sorry that it hurt everybody so badly. I'm good at it but that doesn't mean I like it. It's true I don't know what's been going on while I've been away recently. We all have a lot of adjusting to do, but you're all going to have to tell me sooner or later, just as I will tell you what happened on Edora and what I can of the undercover thing. Okay Daniel?" explained Jack.

"For now, Jack." said Daniel grudgingly.

"Forget the BBQ, it's clear we all need to get some rest and take this slowly. I'll be around if you do want to talk. We are due to ship out to PX3 4242 in five days, so I'll see you for the pre mission briefing at 0800, Monday or whenever. Daniel make sure you go home please, no more staying here falling asleep over the books." said Jack quietly but firmly. Damn that sounded like he was ordering Daniel about, and treating him like a kid…

He watched as Daniel momentarily stiffened as the words sank in, then resignedly he nodded at Jack. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and decided that was as far as they both dared go for the moment and left Daniel on his own.

**-Daniel-**

Great! He and Sam had been given the all clear from the Infirmary and a whole five days before we go through the Stargate with Jack in charge. Sam could talk to Jack if she wanted but he wasn't going to. So he'd left Jack on his own waiting to be cleared for duty. They hadn't exactly talked on PJ3 989, why did the General think they would now? The Tollan treaty that he'd worked on for over a week (in between being maligned, yelled at and generally punched about…) sat on the chair by the door where he'd flung it after Jack had come back with Makepeace's soldiers. He could always use it as a doorstop or something useful.

That reminded him, he needed to look up a link between a symbol he'd seen on Px3 5491 and something SG9's video had shown… doors, gates, passages… He grabbed the book he needed and began to look through it, pacing up and down as he did so.

Then Jack had shown up, blown his train of thought, and he couldn't help exploding in his face. Really, it was quite an achievement to catch Jack off guard, but he didn't have a clue what had been going on. There was too much to tell all in one go and it involved Sam and Teal'c as well, so he didn't feel he could say 'everything'.

And if that meant his shooting and so called self defence lessons with Makepeace than so be it. Jack was always telling him he needed to learn how to duck and use his weapon better. Plus he'd never quite understood those weird commando hand signals. Well, that was what he'd been doing, sort of. At least it kept the focus off Sam and Teal'c. Imagine ordering Sam to set up camp and all meals just because she was female! Even Teal'c bristled at that one, and Sam couldn't disobey an order. Daniel had tried to explain how they normally did things, but Makepeace just said 'This is how SG1 runs from now on' and that's when it hit them that Jack had really gone this time.

Jack didn't need to know how Makepeace had treated them, all that was over now. Makepeace wouldn't be asked about how he'd led SG1, just about being the mole in the SGC. SG1 hadn't seen him acting suspiciously, anything illegal had been done out of their range. And that's what they'd reported.

At least Jack still seemed to care; being told to go home had startled him. It had been awhile since he'd heard that from Jack, and it felt …normal, comfortable. That was why he'd agreed. They all still had a lot of explaining to do, but it was a start. First though, he _would_ go home. See Jack, I can obey orders. Watching his fish swim round the tank sounded like a restful way to spend a few days. Well maybe one day as a start.

**2230 hrs General Hammond's office**

**-Jack-**

He left Daniels office, and made his way up various levels and corridors to General Hammond's office. He tapped on the door.

"Come in!" he went in, and saluted at his commanding officer, eyes staring at the wall behind the General's shoulder.

"At ease, Colonel. Report please, and sit down. You look tired, son" –actually you look awful, thought the General.

"Thank you sir." and Jack slid gratefully onto a chair

"Before you start, Teal'c has gone through to Chulak. We are just waiting confirmation about his son's condition and whether there's anything he needs from us at this end."

"I'll wait here on base, until we have that confirmation, sir."

"If that's what you want Colonel." though the General had expected his reply. He wouldn't go until he was sure all his team were ok

There was a pause

"How are you and the rest of SG1 going to spend your downtime Colonel?"

"I tried the usual BBQ thing, but they wouldn't bite. I've managed to suggest that Daniel and Major Carter actually go home for a change. I think we all could do with getting off the base, sir. We are all too tired today for any backslapping bonding." he replied with a wry smile. Then his face got serious.

"General, just how many times did Makepeace go out as SG1?"

General Hammond grunted, typical of his 2IC to get straight to the heart of the matter

"Colonel, they went out on three missions in the two weeks you were undercover. I assure you your team reported no evidence of sabotage or witnessed covert activities. I went through this with them at the debriefings. They won't be involved in giving evidence,"

"It's not that I'm worried about General."

"Then what is it?"

"Something Makepeace told me. He couldn't wait to say it." O'Neill paused and looked warily at his CO, his fingers rubbing the edge of the desk.

"It was something Daniel said to Makepeace. About not trusting my command and that he was willing to try anything. Daniel just told me not to ask about working with Makepeace, which makes me think something happened that I've not been told about, sir."

"Makepeace reported that they were a fine team to work with, granted his way of doing things might be different from yours. Colonel O'Neill they weren't out with him long enough for them to get used to each other as a team. Yes, they all looked uncomfortable when they got back, but then even your SG1 has its off days."

"If you say so General." replied the Colonel, not convinced

The phone rang on the General's desk.

"Hammond here." He listened "Thank you sergeant." and put the phone back down.

O'Neill raised an eyebrow "Teal'c, sir?"

"Yes, Teal'c and his family are fine and don't need us; he expects to be back before you ship out next week."

"Then with your permission General sir, I'm not here until Monday."

"Permission granted. You're on stand down until then. Get some rest Colonel."

"General." Jack nodded and left.

Once out of the Generals office, Jack relaxed, only to wince at the returned fury of his migraine. He'd _have_ to stay on the base for tonight. No way was he driving home now and he couldn't be bothered to get someone else to drive him. Slowly he made his way back to his quarters; he had to make a few phone calls anyway. He knew he had some tablets the Doc had prescribed for him, somewhere in his desk. He subdued the lighting in his room, picked up the phone and called security. Within minutes he got confirmation that Daniel had left in the last half hour, and that Major Carter had just finished up in her lab and gone to her quarters.

Reassured at last that his team were behaving themselves he rummaged in the drawer for the bottle. By now he was feeling nauseous, and shaky, he knew he'd left it too late for his pills but he had to try. He got the top off the bottle and shook it. He couldn't believe it, there was only half a tablet left. Not enough but a start. He went and washed his face in ice cold water before filling a glass and took the tablet. Maybe his head would just explode and that would take care of everything. Nothing for it, he'd have to go and see the Doc.

Feeling like death warmed up he went to the infirmary. Doctor Janet Fraiser was in her office checking reports and supplies when she heard footsteps. She went outside to investigate. She was surprised to see Colonel O'Neill she'd only seen him a few hours ago and he seemed fine-quiet but fine; usually he couldn't wait to get out of the place.

'Doc, you in here?' he said carefully

'Yes what's up?' as O'Neill turned round to face her. Dark brown eyes with dark smudges underneath in a pale wan face told her something was definitely up.

'Headache, need pills, feel sick' he said slowly and succinctly and taking a deep breath went over to a bed and leaned against it, he put the empty bottle on the side locker so she could refill it.

'Have you taken any already Colonel?'

'Only half one left' he said as he crawled onto the bed and covered his face with his arm. She turned around and quietly she ordered the night lights to be dimmed further, and asked her nurse to fill up his medicine bottle for him.

Suddenly she heard movement behind her. The Colonel had sat up on the side of the bed, looking even worse than before -ready to bolt; experience told her what this meant. She grabbed the emesis basin from the side locker and thrust it at him just in time. Her staff rallied round getting fresh ones just in case and a warm cloth to clean him up with. Another nurse handed him a glass of water to rinse his mouth.

When he'd finished, he lay back on the bed eyes closed

'Oh God' he groaned 'I hate it when that happens' still feeling slightly embarrassed.

'Actually you might feel better now.' She asked a nurse to get a cold pack for him.

'Just give me the damn pills and I'll go back to my quarters' he said quietly from behind his arm. He was tired of fighting for everything. He would move in a minute, just as soon as he stopped shaking and feeling cold, though his head was on fire.

'No Colonel. I think an injection will be better for you this time. It'll work faster than pills on your raw stomach and you can stay right where you are.' The words- 'where I can see you'- hung unspoken in the air.

He groaned, again but didn't move. Janet took that as a yes.

She went away to sort out the injection. As she came back with the needle and vial she saw that he was sitting on the side of the bed again, slowly undoing his boots with his eyes shut tight and going by feel alone. It was obviously too painful to bend down and undo them. He wiggled his feet out of the boots and stopped. He took a deep breath, and sat still, his hands gripped the side of the bed, and he took another deep breath. He got under the covers and lay with his arm covering his face again.

'Colonel' she said softly, placing her hand on his arm.

'Hmmm' he said

'Ready for the injection, sir? Left arm, please.'

He presented his arm and she deftly wrapped the rubber tubing round his arm to get the blood vessel up, and quickly injected him. She sat for a few minutes while she pressed cotton wool against the site, and put a plaster over it. The Colonel lay quietly throughout, one hand holding the cold pack to his forehead.

'All done, sir. Get some rest; I'll leave orders that you aren't to be disturbed. There's only you and Lt Michaels from SG6- the others are checking back in tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning sir'

He opened one bleary eye

'Thanks Doc'

'You're welcome' she got another blanket and put it over him, before returning to her office to pull his file and update it.

Another migraine to add to the tally she thought. Although this one was probably due to the accumulation of stress as well as the days Gate travel. Going through the Stargate did seem to give SGC teams more than their natural share of headaches.

A quarter of an hour later footsteps sounded outside again, and she looked up, it was General Hammond- time for the Infirmary end of day report. He preferred to visit in person when he could; he said it gave him an excuse for wandering the corridors before he left his post. He wasn't above chatting to whatever personnel were confined to the Infirmary.

'Doctor Fraiser-is that Colonel O'Neill? I saw him less than an hour ago!'

'Yes, it is sir. He's fine, just a bad migraine. He came in because he'd run out of his usual medication. Probably forgot to renew it what with all that's been going on. But it wouldn't have helped anyway - I had to treat him here. He'll get a good night's sleep; I'll keep an eye on him just in case General'

They both walked over to the bed, the injection had sent the Colonel to sleep. Lying on his side, the cold pack had slipped down the pillow to the bed cover. Doctor Fraiser picked it up, brushing the hand lying outside the covers. The Colonel made a slight noise and shifted in the bed. His hand closed and opened again. General Hammond and the Doctor looked at each other- typical – even slightly drugged the Colonel still fidgeted. He mumbled again, this time they heard him say 'damn straws…I lost…' They didn't know what that meant. Could be anything knowing him.

'You're sure he's ok?' said the General anxiously

'Quite sure -about this- anyway. About sorting things out with the others- who knows? But they will, they've gone through too much to lose it all now' assured Doctor Fraiser.

'Fine, tell me about SG6 Doctor' and they both moved on down to the end of the Infirmary.

-**Five days later SG1 leave for PX3 4242**

General Hammond looked out from the Control room at SG1 getting ready to depart for PX3 4242. It was quiet down there, none of the Colonel's jokes. They just stood waiting at the end of the ramp. Even Dr Jackson was on time, perhaps the only good legacy of his time with Makepeace.

'Chevron 7 encoded' the gate kawooshed' Hammond leaned forward to the microphone.

'SG1 you have a go. See you in 36 hours'

Colonel O'Neill stared darkly up at the control room, and then set off up the ramp, the rest of the team following behind.

General Hammond felt unsettled by his 2IC's stare. He really hoped that they would work things out. If not he'd have to get them around a table, remove sharp objects, bang a few heads together until they did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Leftovers by Roo**

SG1 emerged from the wormhole into chill drizzly weather. Since the MALP had gone through heavy rain had fallen, and the ground was sodden.

"Welcome to PX3 4242. It's raining folks." grumbled Jack, as the others ranged about behind him. He scanned the horizon. 'Trees, whoopee' he murmured. The others said nothing.

In front of the Gate was an avenue of irregular tall stones, leading to a clearing with shrubs, small stones and the DHD, trees spread thickly either side of the clearing.

"Daniel? You're on. Any of this looks familiar? Teal'c?"

"Well we've seen stones in a circle in front of the gate before which might indicate…" began Daniel automatically

"But not an avenue?" interrupted Jack

"No, but that could mean some kind of processional importance."

"Are we talking Gou'ald here? I mean we've only come to pick up a wayward UAV and have a poke about the place. Are there any markings or writings Daniel?"

"Give me a chance here Jack!" snapped Daniel, Teal'c Jack and Sam carried on scanning the area.

"Do you feel anything Teal'c, Carter?" asked Jack

"No, I do not. Do you O'Neill?" Teal'c replied

"No sir." answered Carter

'Maybe it's just me,' thought Jack. The back of his neck itched, he felt like he was being watched, something was sending him warning 'get outta here' signals big time. It was very quiet, too quiet

"Carter tell me again why we have to pick up this UAV? Can't some other SG team do it?" grumbled Jack

"Because I helped programme it and I know how to read the data. We have to get the black box at the very least. Besides it showed some interesting power readings near the Gate, could be something useful. There are also signs of habitation 10 miles away, the other side of the river," she replied knowing that he had been at the same mission briefing they all had. Was he trying to make polite conversation? They all knew why they had been given this job really, it was an easy mission, just make sure they weren't going to kill each other just yet.

"Okay then lets move out." O'Neill ordered and they all started down the avenue of stones leading to the DHD.

As they passed the first stone a high-pitched hum began. They stopped. The noise stopped. They carried on and the noise got louder and more piercing. The noise was so painful they all fell to their knees; eyes screwed shut, hands pressed tightly over their ears. They couldn't have gone back through the Stargate even if they tried. After a time they got to their feet and staggered on. As they reached the last stone hoping it meant the noise would stop, a beam from either side scanned the team. The noise abruptly stopped. All four of them dropped to the ground. Deafened by the noise and sudden silence Carter and Daniel crawled past the last stone to the DHD

Shakily Carter and Daniel got up and looked back; the beam still played over the other two, targeting Teal'cs head and pouch, and the Colonels head and chest. Then it too stopped. Teal'c and Jack lay sprawled face down on the grass.

They ran back and hesitantly touched their comrades in case the noise began or the beam, but nothing happened. Sam and Daniel dragged them both away from the stones, just in case anything else started

Daniel went to Teal'c as Sam went to Jack turning him onto his back and felt for pulse. It was there.

"I think they're ok, just knocked out from the noise," she said loudly, her ears still ringing.

"Or the beam maybe," said Daniel "I did see a beam didn't I?"

"Yes but how come we were able to get out of it and they didn't?" queried Sam

"I don't know. This isn't like the Ancients device, Jack wasn't affected by that."

Sam tried Jack again, but he was still out. That left her in charge.

"We're going back, I'll dial up," she said as she got up and went back to the DHD. She pressed the glyphs but nothing lit up on the Gate.

"Looks like we're stuck here for the moment."

"Ok Daniel we'll wait a bit if they don't come round soon we'll have to get under cover. Just in case we've alerted someone," she crouched down to present a smaller target and looked around warily while Daniel knelt and kept an eye on their fallen charges.

Minutes passed, no birds flapped across the sky, nothing moved.

"Daniel! Get Teal'c. We haven't time to be delicate; we'll have to pull them by their vests. I'll get the Colonel."

"Okay."

They both heard a rustle and movement. The tall Jaffa, sat up.

"Teal'c, are you okay?"

"I am well, although my symbiote is most unsettled at present."

"Well you've been out for a good couple of minutes," stated Daniel

"Colonel O'Neill?"

"He's still out."

Teal'c got to his knees, and then stood up slowly, absently rubbing his pouch.

_So fragile these Tauri- still a hunt was a hunt…_

He blinked and looked around

"What? Seen something Teal'c?" asked Sam

"Did you hear that DanielJackson, MajorCarter?" Teal'c asked

"Hear what?"

"No, nothing."

"Perhaps I was mistaken," he allowed. Daniel and Carter looked at each other; Teal'c only spoke for a good reason. "I will assist you with O'Neill, if you cannot rouse him now."

Carter turned and knelt down beside her CO.

"Colonel? Come on wake up!" and she lightly slapped his face.

He groaned and slowly his eyelids fluttered open. Sam looked into his unfocused eyes

"Colonel, we know you're in there!"

"Not gonna tell you anything." he slurred and closed his eyes again

"No change there then," said Daniel caustically, watching proceedings.

Sam still knelt by Jack and checked his pulse again, abruptly his hand grabbed hers, and forced her sideways, with a twisting lunge he straddled her and pinned her arms to one side.

"I said LEAVE me alone!" he yelled at her, his dark eyes huge.

Reflexively Carter kicked her legs up and in a subtle manoeuvre she'd managed to flip the Colonel onto his back with a thud.

"Jack! Sam! What the hell are you doing?" cried Daniel in amazement.

"Carter? What's going on?" asked Jack a bit disconcerted to find his 2IC sitting on him. Nice though that was, she didn't look very pleased.

She didn't know what that was all about; if he'd really wanted to hurt her he could have easily just knocked her out.

"Carter!" she jerked back to the present, she was still sitting on the Colonel. She got up.

"Ah- sorry about that, Carter. I'm not good on surprise wake up calls."

He lay on the ground with his eyes closed for a moment longer before asking the obvious question again.

"What happened?" he asked starting to sit up, "God, headache," he said as he sat on the wet ground with his arms braced against his knees, head in his hands.

"Everybody else ok? Teal'c?"

"I am well."

"Carter?"

"Fine sir."

"Daniel?"

"Just great Jack."

"Okay, what the hell _was_ that?" asked O'Neill peering round.

"Some kind of welcome I don't think," said Carter

"Really?" Jack muttered sarcastically.

"Well sir, the noise began as we went past the stones and got worse so we slowed, then we were scanned by a beam at the end." explained Carter

"Beam?" queried Jack

"I do not remember a beam, O'Neill," stated Teal'c

"Yes, there _was_ a beam, we all got scanned but only Sam and I managed to get past the last stone. You two must have got the full force of it for some reason." said Daniel patiently.

"What does _that _mean? We get a Happy Meal and go back home or there's a message to Apophis saying 'here come and get us?" snapped Jack as he got to his feet and checked his weapon and back pack.

"I don't know exactly sir, but the beam must do or mean something, sir" said Carter

"Carter, check the DHD still works we'll inform the General of the situation. Daniel, have a quick look around the stones, see if there's any writing, but be careful." ordered Jack. "The sooner we get the UAV the sooner we get off this crappy planet. I don't like it."

"The DHD doesn't work, sir I tried it 5 minutes ago," Carter warned.

"What! That's all we need. Humour me- try it again Major, you never know," he ordered.

He turned to check where Teal'c was, and found himself being stared at by the tall Jaffa.

_ This one should prove to be a worthy adversary_

"Okay there, buddy?" the tall man blinked and looked around

"I am fine."

"Good, then we're all fine, all happy to be here," muttered Jack

"How we doin' kids?" he called out to Daniel who was engrossed in the stone and Major Carter who was fiddling with the DHD

"Sir the DHD checks out. I don't understand why it wouldn't work earlier."

"Well that's a relief. Dial us up Carter, and turn the MALP link on when ready."

Major Carter pushed the symbols and the Gate kawhooshed open. Jack toggled his radio.

"This is Sierra Golf One Niner to SGC over."

'Hammond here, what's up Colonel?'

"Oh, nothing much, sir. Just checking the DHD works. Oh, it seems we got scanned by some beam. Shot out of one of the stones at the bottom of the Gate, sir. We got knocked out for a couple of minutes. We're okay, sir don't worry. We'll carry on with the reconnaissance and picking up the UAV."

'Understood, Colonel'

"Over and out." The Gate closed.

"Daniel?"

"Um Colonel, there's something scratched on here. I'm videoing it for later," he replied absently

"What did you just call me? You mean you don't want to spend 3 hours here deciphering it!" said Jack surprised. Daniel just looked at him.

"Actually it was only you and Teal'c that were affected by the beam," Daniel repeated as they moved off.

"Really? I just thought we all got knocked out."

"Well, you thought wrong."

"Look, I'm fine now and so is Teal'c. You and Carterare both fine. Let's go shall we?"

Jack gave him a thoughtful stare as he passed him gesturing with his hand the way ahead

"The UAV is this way, so's the village, you do _want_ to go to the village Daniel?"

After they had been walking for another hour or more they stopped for a water and ration break. Jack stood looking around him as Daniel and Carter put things back in their packs. Teal'c also stood silently.

"Anybody hear anything?" asked Jack. Silence.

"No... ."

"It's too damn quiet. No birds, animals. I don't like it. It's deathly quiet," he carried on.

"Why do you always have to imagine the worst?" asked Daniel

"Practice."

"Well there you go. Mr Positive."

"Look I'm just saying…"

"What do you think could possibly go wrong here Jack?"

"Well, the beam thing for starters. The DHD fritzing. I just look at the situation. What do you think I was trained to do? If nothing bad happens that's a bonus."

"That's one heck of a plan, Jack! Doesn't always work does it? We all know what you're trained to do."

"Daniel! Can we not do this now?" said Jack icily

"Why not now? There's nobody else here but us!"

"Because... oh, for cryin out loud," he muttered and moved on down the slope

"Because you think you can bury it under one more mission- ticked off accomplished. Well good for you Jack. I'm not like you!"

Jack turned back to Daniel, his face a rigid mask

"Daniel, I never said you were. Believe me- you do not _want_ to be me. You're an important part of this team and…"

"Thank you for saying it 'Colonel' -a part of the team- sometimes I've got to wonder about that."

"I kept you out of the loop, because I was protecting you! The house was _bugged,_ they were _watching _everything dammit. Don't you get it yet Daniel?"

By now O'Neill and Daniel were yelling at each other. Jack was wound up so tight it was all he could do to clench his fists and not use them.

Teal'c and Major Carter stood watching, half horrified half fascinated as their CO and team mate scratched at one of the festering wounds that smothered the team. Teal'c was ready to intervene although he did not think O'Neill would harm the archaeologist

_Tauri are so passionate, don't you wish he would harm him? Then you would have to take care of O'Neill_

Teal'c grimaced and looked over to Major Carter.

Daniel seemed to be doing okay. She silently cheered him. There was no way that she could argue with her CO like that, not without getting a reprimand or worse. They _were _hurting each other though. Shame it was degenerating into a boys pissing contest. Any moment now one of them was going to say mine's bigger than yours

Jack drew a deep breath

"Daniel I do _not _want to fight with you. We are on an alien planet, we've already been zapped. Who knows what else could happen. Let's just do this, get off this mud hole and get the hell back home Okay?" and began to turn away down the slope again.

"Wait a minute," said Daniel and grabbed him by the shoulder- caught off balance by the slope and the sodden ground- Jack slipped and fell with a heavy thud onto his back.

"Crap," he shouted, winded for a moment.

They all held their breath, Daniel a picture of misery, Teal'c and Sam waiting to see what Jack would do or say.

Before any of them could help him, (even if he'd let them) Jack gingerly stood upright, his vest absorbing most of the wet mud.

"I'm fine by the way, thanks," he muttered

"O'Neill did you hit your head?" asked Teal'c and he stepped forward placing a hand where he could see a small trail of red. He stared at the blood on his hand.

_Tauri red blood, at last_

"It's ok isn't it Teal'c?" asked Carter suddenly standing next to him

"Indeed."

"Don't fuss, it's just a scratch- always look worse than they are," said Jack irritably "I'm fine. Shall we go? Or would you rather fight it out here or turn around now, go back through the Gate and fight it out back there?" he asked challenging them

_Fight here! _

Silence. The words echoed round the group. Daniel shivered in the damp air.

"Fine I'll take point, then Carter, Daniel, Teal'c you watch our six."

Jack led off limping slightly, knowing they would obey even if they were pissed off at him, because he was sure as hell mad at them.

Hell he was mad at himself not least because Daniel was right as usual. They were both right and too stubborn to give way to each others point of view. He wasn't going to lose his team for anything. This was turning out to be a really bad day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Leftovers by : Roo**

The others followed Jack with varying degrees of annoyance and disquiet. Usually they trusted Jack's wariness that was almost a sixth sense. He was so often right about these things. It was a good instinct that had helped them many times before. This time though they weren't sure if it was just because he obviously hated the idea of a routine trip to pick up a UAVor if they'd lost the ability to read O'Neill himself.

Teal'c at the end of the party kept a close eye on O'Neill

_Do not let him out of your sight; the others will be easy to deal when the time comes ._

Teal'c halted in slight pain. O'Neill stopped and peered back at him

"You okay big guy?"

"I am discomforted."

"Junior?"

"I am sure it will pass," they locked eyes momentarily. Teal'c was surprised to see confusion in O'Neill's eyes.

By mid afternoon they had reached the river crossing and ran into a small problem. The heavy rains had turned a passable small river into a dangerous torrent. They walked down the banks for some distance.

"Damn, the bridge has been washed away and there are no narrower sections that I can see." cursed O'Neill, putting his binoculars backin his vest. "We'll have to rope up together.Teal'c you first, then Carter, Daniel then me."

They got out rope from their packs, then took time to check their packs were securely fastened, weapons slung higher up their bodies away from possible water.

They all roped up and followed Teal'c as he slowly and cautiously made his way across.

Teal'c made it to the oppositebank, undid the rope and his heavy pack and helped pull the others in. Sam lost her footing but managed to right herself. Cold and tired she undid herself from the ropeand shrugged off the pack. Now would be a good time to have a warm drink and dry off a little she thought.

Even Daniel managed to stay upright. As Daniel's feet touched solid ground on the other side he looked back for Jack who was some distance behind. He looked past him to the dirty foaming water swirling around them.

"Jack! Look out!" he yelled, but as Jack looked up at him, the fast foaming water that had hidden the approaching tree debris reached him. Knocked off balance, he was pulled under; the tree branches caught up in the rope trapped him under the water his pack weighing him down as well Desperately he tried to undo the clips releasing his pack and find the surface. He reached for his knife to cut the rope, tree… something.

Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were on the end of the rope trying to stop him from disappearing down the river.

"He hasn't come up yet!" cried Carter.

Teal'c followed the end of the rope and swam to where O'Neill should be. He dove under the surface, and grabbed at the Colonel's body. He reached it and _g_rabbing him round the waist managed to bring him to the surface together with the tangle of rope and tree branches. O'Neill fought him, his knife waving in the air. Gasping he coughed up water, and took another breath.

_You could end this all now, they would never know_

"Teal'c!" Jack said, weakly

"O'Neill, put the knife away, we may need the rope. I have an idea," Jack put the knife back in his leg holster. Suddenly O'Neill found himself forced under the surface again, by Teal'c strong hands. Desperate for air once again, he battled Teal'c. Weight lifted from him as his pack detached from his vest. He could vaguely feel the rope and tree bits moving against and around him. He couldn't get any air! His last bubbles expelled and everything went red dark.

O'Neill lay limp against Teal'c as he freed the last bit of rope and tree branch.

_ Yes! So easy _

"No! Breathe, O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted as he hauled him up into the air again.

He squeezed the Colonel's chest, hoping this would make him breathe. He had managed to free the tree branches and push them off into the current, and rope in the water, rather than drag them all to the bank.

O'Neill choked and struggled as Teal'c continued to drag him towards the bank where Sam and Daniel were waiting for them. They had got blankets out of the packs and started a fire.

Teal'c placed the Colonel on the ground, where he lay gasping. Suddenly rolled onto his side and coughed up river water. He lay there with his eyes closed and concentrated on breathing air for a while. Every now and then he coughed up some more water, one hand cradling his side as he did so.

"God," he said weakly "whose idea was it to come here again?"

"The General's," replied Daniel

"Does that mean I can't sue him? This holiday's nothing like the brochure said it would be!"

The Colonel's humour raised small smiles on Daniel and Sam's faces. "God," he thought "this is almost like old times."

"Colonel, are you hurt anywhere? Will you let me check?" asked Carter kneeling beside him

"I'm fine, just a little wet," he protested "Don't bother with the water sample Carter. I've already had some."

"Sir…." She said exasperated

"Fine. No splints this time though," he said with a tired smile

Expertly she ran her hands down his legs- okay so far. She checked his torso and found no obvious signs of broken ribs though he flinched when she pressed his right side. She lifted up his shirt to find tender bruising already marking where the trees had found him, not helped by Teal'cs intervention, and being pulled by the rope. He had scratches on his arms and splinters in his hands from where he'd tried to get rid of the tree branches. She checked his head – it was fine.

"All clear, some bruising and splinters. You were very lucky sir."

"If you guys hadn't…"

"What else were we supposed to do Jack!"

"You would have done the same for us O'Neill."

"Yeah," agreed Jack, although he couldn't forget that moment in the river when Teal'c had pushed him under again. For a second he thought he'd meant it. Had he imagined that?

The sun came out and that helped dry them out. After a while they moved on. The Colonel minus his pack and his favourite cap. But at least he still had his vest pockets and knife.

Late afternoon

Jack scanned the forested area while the others stood or sat having a quick drink. His mind wandered off…What was that…a noise? He spun round. The others looked up in surprise.

"What's up Colonel?" asked Major Carter. There was no reply. Jack just turned back to where he was looking before. The rest finished up and came nearer.

"All I'm saying is he could tell us what he thinks is going on. I mean the planet's totally benign. It's not like we can make him tell us," taunted Daniel

Jack spun round again and grabbed Daniel by the front of his jacket, his eyes blazing fury, ignoring the flare of pain from his bruised ribs.

"Daniel! Don't EVER say that to me again. I'll tell you when I'm good and ready okay? This planet's too freaky. There's stuff going on. Isn't there Teal'c?" and Jack stared hard at the tall man whilst letting go of Daniel.

"Jesus, Jack! No need to fly off the handle. Teal'c?"

"I do not know what O'Neill means."

"Sure you do buddy. Junior doesn't like this place any more than I do," coughed O'Neill

"Look this squabbling isn't getting us anywhere. I'm tired of it! Colonel O'Neill we have a job to do here. Daniel comes with me," ordered Major Carter.

"Major Carter you're right. I apologise, Daniel. Let's go." said the Colonel deliberating ignoring the fact that Carter had just ordered him about.

"Whatever," said Daniel and walked on.

Finally they came to the village that the UAV had scanned before dying somewhere nearby. There were a few simple mud huts with woven roofs, and what appeared to be several animal pens. Moving quietly and swiftly through the buildings as directed by Jack they soon discovered that the place was deserted and had been for a very long time.

"I'd like more time to see if I can find anything in the huts or nearby," asked Daniel

"You stay here with Carter. Teal'c and I will track down the UAV. Carter, hand over the transponder. Check in every hour. We've got 3 hours before we strike camp," ordered O'Neill briskly.

He caught Teal'c's eye as Carter handed the gadget over.

"C'mon T, this way." He still had niggling doubts over the Jaffa and preferred to keep him where he could see him rather than leave him with the others. Besides he knew he'd be bored watching Daniel and Carter do their stuff at the remains of the village. Had every one died out or moved elsewhere? he wondered idly.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Jack and Teal'c move off.

"I hope he comes back in a better mood. Anything I say seems to set him off and that was before we nearly saw him float off down the river."

"We've all had a pretty crappy time lately it's not surprising," replied Carter

"Yeah well, but don't you want to tell him what's been going on, or hear his side of the story? He promised me he would. I thought we'd have plenty of time in 10 mile hikes but no he just shouts at me. Half the time I don't know what I'm saying either. Sometimes I feel I could just…" and Daniel stopped while he tried to find the right word to express what he felt.

"Knock his block off?" finished Carter

"Yes!"

"I've thought about it too since we got here-it's a big quiet planet- nobody but us would know. Daniel- he didn't hurt just you. He was obnoxious to me as well. You do believe me when I told you I didn't know what was going on don't you?"

Daniel sighed and looked over at her

"I know. It's just that it all felt like some conspiracy- which it _was _of course- but against me. I had enough of that in academia before I joined the Stargate programme."

"But at least you know that you were right- you carried on with your beliefs. You don't need them, Daniel but we need you."

"Thanks for that Sam," he said as they slowly patched up their differences.

"Are you sure he really needs to know about Makepeace and all...that…," he asked

"Yes. I think so. It's a command thing. He's not going to like it," she replied

"Maybe he knows already and that's why he's so pissy," suggested Daniel

"Who knows."

"If he'd just say something," said Daniel frustrated

"The Colonel doesn't do that- you should know by now!"

"I almost wanted him to hit me earlier. Then I'd have an excuse to hit him back. Mind you if he's feeling guilty he'd probably let me. Where's the fun in that?" reasoned Daniel quietly

"Daniel, I was cheering you on- you just couldn't hear me! But in all honesty, the Colonel is in a no win situation. If he lets you take a pop at him you feel cheated and the whole cycle carries on. Although you're not military he could still reprimand you or put you on another team. If he defends himself -angry or not- firstly you have no chance against him. He spars with Teal'c, Special Ops – remember? Sorry. Secondly he'd be the one on charges for attacking a civilian, his career ruined." Carter explained.

"I think our team motto should be 'no more secrets- ever'," he continued wistfully.

"Right! Like that's going to work!" she laughed, "Come on let's get on with this, otherwise the Colonel will accuse us of sitting around making mud pies and getting a suntan," she said moving towards one of the huts

"You mean like he did? Remember P34 5634? "Constructing defensive traps"- my ass," he muttered

"Daniel!" she warned, but she was smiling in remembrance.

Daniel and Carter spent the rest of the time checking each house for evidence of habitation, any sign of what had happened to the people. Perhaps the Goa'uld that had settled people here had taken them away again. Maybe it was just a stopping off point, but why so far from the Gate in that case? It didn't make any sense.

Camp later that night

Jack had managed to dry out somewhat as had Teal'c, the day had turned hot after the rain. SG1 usually took it in turns to cook the meal or MRE. Best just do it himself he reasoned, after all he'd been on Edora for months…

"My turn to do dinner," he called.

Sam and Daniel looked at each other quickly. _Did he know? Had Makepeace said something after all? Was he finally going to ask them?_

"What MRE's do you guys want?" Jack asked

"Does it matter Jack? They ALL taste like chicken," replied Daniel

There was a slight pause.

"Ok. So which version of chicken then? Macaroni, beef or chicken chicken? Any last requests?"

Daniel and Sam grinned at each other. Makepeace had never understood why the MRE's had meaning for them. Despite the weirdness of the day so far- the beam thing, the river and Jack's moody outbursts- they were willing to take any piece of 'normal' they could.

The others put in their orders. Teal'c and Sam had fetched wood, Daniel and Jack put up the tents and laid the fire.

"Chow's ready!" called O'Neill "Get 'em while they're…hot." he finished lamely.

He felt suddenly tired. He didn't understand why he was feeling so out of sorts. Up one minute and furious the next. It so wasn't helping matters with the team. The other thing he couldn't work out was why did he keep having flashes of some of his less memorable episodes. This planet wasn't hot like Iran or Iraq had been. Abydos had been really hot and he'd not had trouble there. Mind you on that trip he hadn't been expecting to come home anyway. And this planet had lots of trees like Earth and so many other places they went to, and they didn't give him the creeps like this place did. He felt like he was being watched, or that he could see something moving in the undergrowth. He sometimes felt like he had to hide, get away, he wanted to fight back. 'Whoa! Where did THAT come from?' Why did Teal'c worry him? I mean he trusted him with his life didn't he, hadn't he- on Chulak and ever since?

After the meal they all sat around trying to make conversation but Jack was preoccupied, Daniel was poring over his video and notes from the village and avenue. An hour or so later Jack had had enough of this and decided that he'd take first watch .He could then get some long rest after the beam thing, the river crossing and hiking to the village. He was tired and his side ached and he still felt like he'd swallowed too much river water.

"Heads up guys, I'll take first watch, then Daniel, Carter and Teal'c keep an eye out for anything…"

"Are you alright sir, you don't usually take first watch…" queried Carter

"I'm fine, thanks. Just do as I ask please Major."

Slowly the others made their way into the tents for a few hours sleep before their turn on watch duty.

Jack liked being on watch. It meant it was just him and the stars. It meant his team were all tucked up in their sleeping bags or meditating. It was often quiet and peaceful, but he pitted his wits against the night/early morning noises. Familiar noises that he hadn't realised he would miss. Major Carter's quiet breathing, Daniel's slight snuffling and muttering, and Teal'c off on patrol duty or kel no reeming somewhere. It was very quiet. He tried to sort out what was happening to him and Teal'c and why but didn't come to any conclusions. Perhaps the feelings would wear off when they got back home again.

The hours passed and he woke Daniel for his turn on duty. Crawling into the tent it suddenly looked very warm and inviting.

0100 hrs

"Dammit Jack you could at least have taken your boots off!" cursed Daniel as he made his way into the tent that they shared. Jack lay flat on his back sprawled across both sleeping bags, still in his flak jacket, and P90 loose in his hand. A light sheen of sweat coated his face and neck. It was as if he had fallen asleep as soon as he lay down. Jack might snore a lot but he usually got in his sleeping bag and took his boots off first. He was usually much more careful about his weapon too. The way he was laying meant that Daniel couldn't get into his bag at all.

"What's up Daniel?" It was Sam; it was her watch which was why he was going to bed.

"Look at him!" he said. "How am I going to move him without him waking up and trying to kill me?"

"Jack?" He called softly, knowing Jack was usually a light sleeper. In fact why hadn't he already woken? "Jack." he said again loudly. Still no response.

"I give up. Why is he doing this to me Sam? Is this some kind of Zen test, because I've had enough of this."

"I don't know Daniel. He's not that cruel."

"Don't you dare apologise for him, Sam."

Daniel crawled in and tried to push Jack over the other side of the tent, off his part of the sleeping bag. Jack still didn't stir.

"Sam, what about the gun? I don't like him holding it like that. He doesn't normally do this. You know him and guns. Does he still think he's with Maybourne's outfit?"

"Careful Daniel." She warned. They knew that Jack had very fast reflexes when he was woken up abruptly.

He looked at the gun and saw the safety was still on, and started to unwrap Jack's hand from the grip. At his touch, abruptly Jack surged up, pushing Daniel out of the way with a sharp thump to his chest, bringing the gun up, spitting unfamiliar words as he did so.

"JACK! Wake up! It's Daniel and Sam's here too!" shouted Daniel struggling upright again.

Jack just stared at them, breathing heavily, eyes narrowed peering at them. He blinked at them, and then shut his eyes as if in pain, dropping the gun as he brought both hands up to press against his head. What the..? He didn't expect to be _here_, he'd dreamt he was somewhere else, much warmer, much nastier…He remembered now; PX3 4242 he'd taken the earlier watch.

"God, I've only just come in here. Why did you wake me? What's up?" he said tiredly

"Jack it's been 3 hours, you slept through my watch and Sam is on watch now. You fell asleep across the bags; I was trying to move you out of the way. Are you awake yet?" asked Daniel, heart thumping, waiting to see what Jack might do next. Was everything getting to him? He wouldn't hurt any of them surely.

"I'll be outside if you need me Daniel."

"What language was that you said just then?" asked Daniel once Sam had gone.

"Didn't say anything."

"Yes you did."

"Did not!"

"Okay Jack I've had enough for tonight. Just forget I ever asked. Move over so I can get in." Daniel said gritting his teeth.

Jack moved onto his bag, checked the weapon and laid it down to one side. Then he undid his jacket and removed his boots, and slid into the bag. Damn -it was all falling apart and there seemed nothing he could do about it. How on earth did we get like this? SG1 was the flagship team. And he didn't remember saying anything when he woke up, he was sure of it. Get a grip O'Neill, or they'll be shipping you off to the funny farm before you know it.

He lay there listening to Daniel slowly relax and go to sleep. Having slept so deeply earlier with nightmare images on his brain he really didn't feel like going back to sleep any more. Despite this he managed to doze off for a while then gave up and crawled out of the tent into the early dawn.

"Carter," he said softly

"Morning sir."

"Any coffee left?"

"Ah, sorry I don't think so."

"Daniel usually makes a huge pot."

"I think Teal'c made this- it's not as good as Daniel's, but he drank it so it must be alright. There wasn't much left for me and I must have had that a while ago because I'm feeling tired now. Daniel's coffee at least keeps you awake!"

"I'll take over Carter; you go back and rest up It's almost Teal'c's watch anyway."

"Your ribs ok sir?"

"Yes don't fuss. I just don't feel like going back to sleep now. I'll wake you all at 0700 as usual."

He waited while she got up and went to her tent before seeing if there was any coffee left after all. She was right – there wasn't. He quietly made himself some fresh.

…where was Teal'c?

He sensed a change in the movement of air and started to turn around, stand up. Big muscular hands grabbed his hands before he could bring his gun round. Instead his own weapon was brought painfully against the side of his face. Blood ran down his face from the break in his left eyebrow and nose. His knife was briskly taken and his hands wrenched behind him. Jack flung his head back into his opponent's face and jabbed his elbows hard. The person grunted, and swept Jack's feet away from under him in response. Jack fell hard into the ground, his ribs protesting painfully. His face was pushed forcefully into leaves and grass as his hands were tied tightly behind his back.

"Teal'c, why are you doing this? Let me go, we can talk about this!"

"I think not. You do not understand what is happening. I must finish the hunt."

"What hunt? What are you talking about? What about Carter and Daniel? You've got me, that's all you wanted wasn't it?"

"On the contrary I shall not hurt the others at all."

"That's good."

"I have no use for them. You are my only worthy opponent as shown by the stone."

"That's bad, I'm guessing right? Well they'll came after us when they find out what you've done."

"Maybe, maybe not. They might like seeing you captive."

Jack hated that word captive, prisoner- all sorts of nasty memories crowded his mind. Not now! He thought desperately.

"O'Neill?"

"Yes?" and he began to turn around, only to meet the Jaffa's fist. The world went dark very quickly.

tbc  



End file.
